Southeast Asia seeks Russia cybersecurity pact, South China Sea…

SINGAPORE/MANILA (Reuters) – Southeast Asian nations hope to strike a cybersecurity agreement soon with Russia, which the United States has accused of election meddling, after a series of high-profile hacks in the region, according to a draft document seen on Thursday. Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and ASEAN foreign ministers pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore August 2, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su The draft of the document seen by Reuters discusses formalizing an agreement with Russia. It is set to be issued by foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the close of meetings underway with other global lawmakers in Singapore. The statement also showed that a first draft had been agreed in negotiations on a code of conduct in the disputed South China Sea and reiterated ASEAN’s commitment to an ambitious trade pact backed by China. “We welcome the further strengthening [of] our cooperation in cybersecurity with Russia through the issuance of the statement of ASEAN and Russian foreign ministers on cooperation in the field of cybersecurity,” the draft document said. The statement is due to be published on Saturday and the title would be updated depending on negotiations, it said. Singapore, the host of the ASEAN meeting, suffered its worst cyberattack when hackers stole the personal information of about 1.5 million people, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, from a government health database in July. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets… [Read full story]